Feather renovating



March 3,.1'936. JOHNSON 2,032,579

FEATHER RENOVAT ING Filed June 6, 1953 Zhwentor Patented Mar, 3,1936 t s 'UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE FEATHER RENOVATING Thomas A.-Johnson, Chicago, 111., assignor to Air- Way Electric Appliance Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application June 6, 1933, Serial No. 674,599

9 Claims. (01. 209-22) My inventionrelates to the art of feather reno- Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the separator. vating and. has for its object to provide a novel Fig. 3 is an end viewof the same. method by which feathers may be renovated and In the practice of the invention, any suction cleaned during transfer under pneumatic power or blower device, such as a common household 5 from one feather pillow or tick to another. vacuum cleaner, may be employed. In the draw,

The invention contemplates the withdrawal by ing I have shown a standard'type of cleaner emsuction of the featurers from one tick, blowing bodying a suction-blower unit In, a hollow sucthem into another, and removing the dust and tion handle ll, communicating with a suction in foreign material from the feathers at a point, take to the unit it, and a discharge outlet I2.

intermediate the receiving tick and the blower The handle I I is inserted'in pillow l3, from which device which creates thesuction and blowing efit may withdraw the feathers, and a discharge fects. The idea of employment of this method is conduit I4 is coupled to the outlet l2. not claimed broadly as being new, but certain The separator A is coupled at one end to the difficulties have heretofore blocked the successful discharge conduit I4 and at its other end to a use of such a method. delivery conduit l5, through which the cleaned It has not, been known how to successfully exfeathers are carried into the receiving tick l6. tract thedust and foreign material efficiently The separator includes a; centrally enlarged enough to provide a practical and successful chamber through which the feathers travel from method of renovating. end to end, such chamber comprising the two I The present invention solves the difficulty by conical screen sections l1 and I8, preferably con- 20 dividing or forking the air stream delivered from structed of perforated sheet metal, and a conthe blower device, into two air currents, one of necting ring [9, which is impervious. which is utilized to carry the foreign material The ends of the chamber form coupling necks through a screen into a porous," dust collecting 20, 2|, for connection to the conduits l4, l5. Cy-

-35 chamber, from which it dissipates into the atmoslindrical collars 22 are secured to the necks 2|. 25

phere, and the other of which carries the feathers Between the collars 22 is carried the dust colinto the receiving tick, from which it in turn is lector casing 23, a cloth tube, open at both ends, dissipated into the atmosphere. and preferably of larger diameter intermediate A feature of the invention is the relating of the its ends than at its ends. At its ends it receives porosities of the screen and dust collector to that the collars 22, and is clampe thereagainst by of the receiving tick so as to secure a fairly constricting bands 24. The-ends of the bands definite pressure differential through the sepa- 24 terminate in spaced ears 25 which are conrator, such as to give maximum cleaning eflinected by a bolt and thumb nut 26.

ciency and yet to maintain a sufficient flow of air In the operation of the invention, the suction :13 into the receiving tick to assure proper delivery unit ID sucks the feathers from the tick l3, passes 0f the feather5- them' through its'impeller (not shown) inv which Another object is to provide a novel method in they are agitated and the dust and foreign mawhich the feathers are fiuffed and rolled in the terial loosened, and thence blows them into the region where theforeign material is extracted, separator A.

40 so as to allow the air currents to exert maximum The feathers enter the sepmator A through 40 cleaning effect. v the constricted neck 20. As they pass through e invention further contemplates t the screen chamber, a portion of the a1r ourvision of a novel, sim inexpensive Separator, rent will be diverted through the screens l1, l8, attachable to a standard domestic vacuum Gleam and through the casing 23, and the feathers for carrying out the above method will be rolled against the sides ofthe screenus11 1g With these and other objects in view my inventhe expanding ig ig g i tion consists in the combination and construction apart or flufied y ese air a d the enlar ed central region of the and arrangement of the various parts thereof, gggg zg g g 1 whereby h Objects contemplated r attained This combination rolling and spreading move- 5 as fully Set firth in the accompanying ment will work the dust and foreign material out Specification, pointed out y laims, and i11us of the feathers, into the air currents, which will tr d in the a p ny drawing, in which! carry such foreign material through the screens Fig. 1 is aplan view of an apparatus by means into the collecting casing 23, in which it will be of which the invention may be carried out, I intercepted, the air currents dissipating through I the meshes of the casing. The separator and conducting tubes are constructed so that the path .of the feathers therethrough will be continuously a sweeping one, i. e., either on a substantially straight line (as along the axis of the separator) or on a broad curve, (as may be assumed by the portion of the air stream to continue on through the conduit l'5 into the tick l6, carrying the cleaned feathers into the tick. The porosity of the separator is preferably such as to achieve a maximum pressure differential through the separator, without sacrificing efficiency in the delivcry of feathers from the separator. This is achieved by proper relation to the porosity of an average tick.

The casing 23 may be removed for disposal of the collected refuse.

I claim as my invention: v

1. In a feather renovating system, wherein feathers are transferred from one tick of fabric material to another through a connecting tube and blower for exhausting from one tick and discharging into the other, the improvement which comprises a separator, including an elongated tubular chamber of substantially rigid porous material the respective ends of which are connected to sections of said tube, collars supported on and encircling the end regions of said chamber and maintained in spaced relation by said chamber, and a. tubular collecting casing of limp porous material, surrounding said chamber, its respective end regions receiving and secured to said collars, said chamber-being in the form of two conical sections joined at their larger ends and terminating at their smaller, remote ends, in cylindrical neck portions for attachment to said tubes.

2. In a feather renovating system, whereinfeathers are transferred from one tick of fabric material to another through a connecting tube and blower for exhausting from one tick anddischarging into the other, the improvement which comprises a separator, including an elongated tu-' bular chamber of substantially rigid porous ma terial the respective ends of which are connected to sections of said tube, collars supported on and encircling the end regions of said chamber and maintained in spaced relation by said chamber, and a tubular collecting casing of limp porous material, surrounding said chamber, its respective end regions receiving and secured to said collars, said chamber being in the form of two conical sections joined at their larger ends and termi-.

- nating at their smallen remote ends, in cylindrical neck portions for attachment to said tubes, said collars being secured to said neck portions.

3. The method of renovating feathers which.

comprises blowing them under pressure into a separator; carrying them through the separator in an, unobstructed sweeping path; reducing the pressure of the air stream as it passes through the separator by allowing part of the air to filter through the separator into the atmosphere;

'diate its ends and said carrying the dust out of the feathers in such escaping air; collecting the dust which "thus escapes from the feathers; and thence passing 7 the reduced air stream and the feathers carried thereby, out of the separator and into a receiving tick. I

4. In a feather renovating system wherein feathers are transferred from one tick to another through a blower; a separator comprising 'an elongated tubular chamber of form retaining material through which the feathers are blown, said chamber being formed at one end for attachment to means for conducting feathers to it-from the blower, having at its other end means for delivering feathers to a receiving tick, said chamber forming an enlarged, substantially aligned continuation of said 'meansfor conducting and delivery, and having a perforate portion in its side wall;' and a tubular collecting casing surrounding said chamber, said casing having an air pervious portion and its end regions encircling and secured to the end, regions of the chamber.

5. In a feather renovating system, a separator comprising a tubular chamber having a perforate side wall portion and an air pervious dust collecting casing supported on said chamber and communicating with said perforate portion; a blower for forcing the feathers under pressure into said chamber, 'means attached .to the respective ends of said chamber, forming substantially aligned continuations thereof, for conducting the feathers to'the chamber from the blower and for'delivering the feathers to a receiving tick; said perforate portion and easing allowing the pressure to be partially reduced in said chamber by the escaping of part of the air through said perforate portion and casing. said escaping air carrying the dust through said perforate portion into the collecting casing, and the remainder of the air carrying the feathers into the receiving tick.

6. In a feather renovating system, a separator comprising a tubular chamber having a perforate side wall portion and an air pervious dust collecting casing supported on said chamber and communicating with said perforate portion; a blower for forcing the feathers under pressure into said chamber, means attached to the respective ends of said chamber, forming substantially aligned continuations thereof, for conducting the feathers to the chamber from the blower and for delivering the feathers to a receiving tick; said perforate portion and easing allowing the pressure to be partially reduced in said chamber by the escaping said perforate portion and easing, air carrying the dust through said tion into the collecting casing, and of the air carrying the feathers into the receiving tick, said chamber being enlarged intermeperforate portion being in the enlarged region, whereby the feathers are caused to fluff by the reduction of air pressure.

7. In a feather renovating system wherein feathers are transferred from one tick to another through a blower, a separator comprising an elongated tubular chamber of substantially rigid material through which the feathers are blown said escaping p rforate porunder pressure, said chamber having at its re spective ends means for conducting feathers to it from the blower and for delivering the feathers to a receiving tick, both forming substantially aligned continuations of the chamber, said chmher having a perforate portion in its side wall of part of the air through the remainder andatubularcollectingcasingofairpervious elongated tubular chamber of perforated sheet metal'through which the feathers are blown under pressure, said chamber having at its respective ends means for conducting feathers to it from the blower and for delivering the feathers to a receiving tick, both forming substantially aligned continuations-of the chamber, and a tubular collecting casing of limp air pervious material surrounding said chamber, its end regions encircling and secured to the end regions of the chamber whereby it is supported in extended position.

9. In a feather renovating system wherein feathers are transferred from one tick to another through a blowerand conducting tube; a

separator comprising an elongated tubular chamber of substantially rigid material through which the feathers arablown under pressure, said chamher having at its respective ends means for conducting feathers to it from the blower and for delivering the feathers to a receiving tick, both forming substantially aligned continuations of the chamber, said chamber having a perforate pors tion in Jits side wall, collars supported on and encircling the end regions of said chamber and maintained in spaced relation by said chamber,

' and a tubular collecting casing of air pervious material, surrounding said chamber, its respective end regions receiving and detachably secured to said collars.

THOMAS A. JOHNSON. 

